Independence could encourage more financial companies to set up their headquarters in Scotland, the First Minister has claimed.

The country is already a "hugely influential and important financial centre" and could be even more important in the future, Alex Salmond said.

He said the Scottish Government was working on the sector's strengths, such as its highly skilled workforce, and said this could bring "huge opportunities in the modern financial services industry".

With independence, the industry could "benefit further", he told the FT International Financial Centres Forum in Hong Kong.

"Key government functions based in Scotland, such as management of public sector assets and liabilities, and the operation of an oil fund that we propose, could in themselves present new opportunities for the financial services industry," Mr Salmond said.

"Full access to the levers of economic growth is important, taking a coordinated approach to the economy, developing the financial services sector further and attracting more headquarters functions into Scotland."

And while companies would always want a cost-effective location, Mr Salmond said they would "place an even higher premium on access to a skilled workforce, and proximity to major markets".

This leaves Scotland "in a strong position", he said. "We share a time zone, a language and a regulatory system with London, and our operating costs for key functions can be some 30% lower than the City of London. Those are among the reasons why companies such as Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan already have major support functions for their global operations in Scotland."

He added: "We will ensure that Scotland, which has been so important to the past and present of financial services, will also be a major force for the future."

But Tory finance spokesman Gavin Brown accused the First Minister of "telling one thing to the Scottish people and another to the rest of the world".

Mr Brown said: "In a bid to woo financiers in Hong Kong, Alex Salmond states as a central argument that 'we share a time zone, a language and a regulatory system with London'. He seems to have forgotten that he has a desperate desire to create a new regulatory system that would diverge from the rest of the UK over time."